My experience with the NutriBullet and their Customer “Service” department.

UPDATE: The day I posted this (09/26) I received a call from the NutriBullet folks. I was told they were shipping me a replacement unit and I would receive it in “7-10 days”. Giving them the benefit of the doubt I counted only business days and even deducted a day for Columbus Day. Even with that I’m here at 11 business days and still no NutriBullet. Over 2 weeks since they called me and exactly ONE MONTH since it died and I first contacted them. Without a doubt some of the worst customer service I’ve experienced.

UPDATE 2: Well, I’d really hoped this update would be me saying I got my replacement NutriBullet. Ummm… no. I did get an email from them saying that it was shipped on 10/11 via USPS and that they suggest I wait 10-15 days for delivery. I replied asking them why they told me it was shipped on 09/26, no answer to that yet. I now officially hate everything my NutriBullet stands for. I’ll be pushing two months of a dead blender before I get my replacement, that is if they actually shipped it on the 11th.

FINAL UPDATE: Today is 10/17/12. After 21 emails, 4 phone calls and 5 weeks I received my replacement parts. I was told Friday they’d just shipped and replied backing asking them why they told me it shipped on the 26th. They replied today telling me they were sorry for the delay and hoped to ship it to me soon. Seems like it’s one huge train wreck over there. If this thing breaks again I’ll simply throw it away and never look at another NutriBullet again.

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Around September 12th my NutriBullet sprung a leak. I didn’t overload it or misuse it in any way, I followed the same method I had every other morning to make a smoothie, or “NutriBlast” as they call them. Unfortunately as soon as I started the machine it began to leak, a lot. I immediately stopped the unit and attempted to clean out all the smoothie in the housing however it had leaked behind a thin plastic shield that I could not get to. I also noticed when I picked it up that smoothie was leaking out of the bottom of the machine and had formed a nice puddle on my kitchen counter. I immediately unplugged the unit and tried calling their customer service number. After working my way through a maze of automated prompts I was told, “Our call queue is currently full, please try your call again later.” I was busy the rest of the day and the next morning (Sept. 13) decided to send a request for replacement through their website. I received my first reply from NutriBullet Customer Service the following Monday, Sept. 17.

Here is the text of the email I received:

We are pleased to be of assistance with your request for a replacement Power Base. Now, where did it leak from? Did it leak from where you screw the cup on or from underneath the Blade? If you are getting leaking issues you may need your cup or blade replaced also. Please try different variations of cups and blades to determine if there is another part you need replaced. The NutriBullet is covered by a 1-year limited warranty from the date of purchase. If it does not operate to your satisfaction due to defective parts or workmanship, Homeland Housewares will repair or replace it for free (excluding shipping and handling).

Since the purchase was made within 30-days we will waive the shipping and handling fee and promptly ship a replacement(s) at no additional charge. Please confirms if the Base is all you need or another part as well. Also, please reply back with the barcode number underneath your Power Base.

Cool, looks like the issue has been resolved… or so I thought.

I don’t want to ramble on too much so I’ll give a summary of the exchange from there. At this point I tried the unit (I hadn’t tried it again since the leak) and it would not come on so I replied with details of what happened and told them I tried it with no luck. A couple days later I get a reply with a list of more questions, many that I’d already addressed in my first two messages. I replied again and waited, at this point it had taken a week to get this far. I received two more emails over the next week and the last one, two days ago, asked more questions and then told me I’d need to call and give them my credit card info to cover shipping – even though their FIRST email to me told me that cost would be waived. After a couple more emails they asked me to try the unit again, check tabs on the cups, seals on the blades, etc. I did and after hearing a crunching sound the unit started up, I assume this was breaking the crust of dried smoothie loose before it could be started. There was a burning smell as well. Even if the unit worked fine now there is food stuck in it as you can see in the pics below. There’s no way that can be sanitary. There’s also condensation in the motor housing after two weeks of not being used.

You can see the food stuck behind a plastic lining in the NutriBullet where it leaked.

I figured to expedite things I’d try calling them again. This time the phone rang once then I got a busy signal. I tried a few more times with the same results and emailed them back. This time I told them that it was ridiculous this should take two weeks to resolve when I was told in the first email it would be replaced without cost, I have not heard back from them again. Today is two weeks since I first tried to reach them about this. I attempted to call again today and got the same ring then busy signal. Amazingly I did manage to eventually get through and waded through the swamp of automated prompts again. This time once I was in the queue I received a recorded message that said something to the effect of, “Due to extreme demand your hold time will be very substantial, we will hold your place in the queue and call you back.” I’m still waiting for the call back.

I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that a company that pushes sales so hard totally ignores the importance of customer service. It shows me what they think of me as a customer, now that they have the sell they could care less. The volley of emails actually seems like they are trying to delay or avoid replacing my NutriBullet. I guarantee there’s no shortage of shipments going out to new customers. I see ads for the NutriBullet everywhere online, I use a site called MyFitnessPal.com for calorie tracking and see their banner ads on there at least a few times a week.

I’ll update this once I see what the end result is or if there are any other developments worthy of mention. As of right now I would not recommend the NutriBullet based on their lack of service after the sell.

54 thoughts on “My experience with the NutriBullet and their Customer “Service” department.”

Customer service SUCKS. I called 4 times and was placed on hold for 15 minutes each time and then disconnected. One time I did leave my phone number for a call back as the message stated high call volume (I wonder why) leave your number and don’t lose your pace in line. That was 3 hours ago and no return call. These people at Nutribullet should take lessons from Netflix, who really do know how to treat their clients

Used out nutribullet 15 to 20 times since 8/2014 . blended some peaches for out nerwborn and smoke started coming out of it / bad smell… Not happy with the Quality of this Product. All your ads on TV make it sound so great but its a piece of dangerous Crap.. not happy will be letting all my Friends know how bad this product is.

Wow, what a train wreck NutriBullet customer service is indeed. I purchased mine from Costco in April/May 2014. After two months of use (I use it daily) the underside of the blade started leaking grease and continued to do that until last week when the veggie liquid from the mixer leaked through into the grease. I called them 12 times without an answer so I returned it back to Costco for a replacement. I sent them an email today (12/16/14) and will wait to see if their response is in line with what ya’ll said.
I love the product but completely dislike their lack of phone support and IF this new unit becomes defective, I’ll follow up here again.
Nice to see a place where we can vent. Thanks.

My make a suggestion? I got the 900watt Nutribullet and LOVED IT. But after 4 months it started smoking and making a horrid electrical smell. Rather than mess with customer service I decided (meaning my wife decided to take it back to Bed Bath and Beyond. Can I say this company is exceptional! They not only took it back, they gave it to me at a lesser cost (as the price had reduced) AND they credited me the coupon price as well. They only asked what was wrong with it. When a business wants you back they will take care if you. And they did!

Should of bought it from Costco..when I had a problem with a leaky gasket an odd smell from the motor I exchanged my 14 piece ($89.99) the same day W/ no hasles..its been almost a year an still works great an I use it regularly:+)

I love my NutriBullet, however, I do have one problem that I’m sure you can help me. Not every time but very often the gasket would come off when I unscrew after spinning. I think the gasket does not fit snuggly which is why it comes off. Can you send me another gasket?

I have had a similar problem with the extractor blade base. Customer “Service” is a joke. I bought mine on Amazon.com, apparently from a seller other than Amazon – even though Amazon billed and fulfilled the order. For that reason, Nurtribullet refuses to honor the warranty. Not much in the way of service….

Hey Rich – Wow!?? – have you tried contacting them via e-mail? – customerservice@nutribullet.com. I had a blade replaced by them a few months back and all I had to pay was the s/h. Might be worth looking into? Just provide them with your motors barcode # on the bottom – 15 digit #. Good luck!

Ive had my Nutribullet for 9 months now, and for the past few weeks I noticed rust coming from the bottom part of motor; I do not experience leaks however.
I called the customer service number and spoke with a nice guy who told me the rust could be because I have a habit of putting fruits/vegetables above the max line and also I take off that plastic ring to clean out the bottom part of it.
They are sending me a new blade (7-10 business days + $2.99 for the shipping/handling) so I hope this works out. I really love my Nutribullet.

FYI My 2 month old Nutribullet started making a strange noise this morning and when I finished the blast, I looked at the base of the extractor blade and it was leaking black oil. I then put a cup with cold water on the blade and ran it for about 10 seconds, and I could see black particles in the water, so the blade is leaking out of both ends.

Being concerned about this, I called customer service and spoke to a very nice gentleman, and explained my concern. In the conversation I told him that while I don’t put ice in my blasts, I do use frozen fruit all the time, like bananas, peaches, strawberries, etc. He asked me if I put the frozen fruit like frozen whole strawberries at the top of the cup, where it would be the closest to the blade, and I told him that is what I always do. He said it would be much better to put a buffer between this very hard fruit and the blade, when filling the cup, so that the strain on the blade wouldn’t be as hard when first starting the blade up. This approach makes a great deal of sense to me. Anyway, they are shipping me a new blade, and in the mean time I can use the spare one I bought when I got my Nutribullet, so I can keep on blasting

I just received my 3rd NB. They were super quick to answer email and even called me on a Sunday. I’m on my 3rd NB in 14mo. I did get the 5yr ext warranty only b/c the product was so new. Very glad I did. It costs me about $8 in S&H to get replacement motor and blade assembly. Personally, I think problem comes from overfilling.

After just 3 months of operation, the bearing on the extractor assembly of our NutriBullet went bad (a common problem based on some forum posts I’ve found). We registered the product with Nutribullet and we were about to send them our Amazon receipt and request for warranty replacement/repair but we were informed that because we purchased through an Amazon 3rd party seller Nutribullet will not honor their warrantee. They say the warrantee is non-transferable and the 3rd party seller, Maxfind, is not an authorized seller and thus effectively they are the beneficiary of the warrantee and not us.
First and foremost, based on the 3 month lifespan of our extractor assembly and the obvious problems others have had with their extractor assemblies as noted via many forum posts, it is clear that NutriBullet has a manufacturing/design problem. We can understand that. And we are usually very forgiving of companies that make good on such mistakes by openly acknowledging their problems and fixing or replacing all affected units. However, Nutribullet has chosen to hide behind legal technicalities. We will be returning our Nutribullet to Amazon, fortunately they have agreed to accept the unit outside of their normal return window, and we will purchase a Vitamix instead. You made a poor choice Nutribullet. Many before you have done the same, others have learned, stand behind your product, it will pay dividends in the end. You are currently a one trick pony and my guess is you can’t afford not to stand behind your product even if it did come from “unauthorized” reseller. As far as we are concerned the product and the company are one big FAIL!

Don’t buy this unit, defective on third use (completely dead). Even though I bought it on Amazon, it was fulfilled by Planet Stuff and Nutribullet will not honor their warranty because they claim i bought it off of an unauthorized reseller. Was not able to resolve through Amazon, Planet Stuff or Nutribullet and have found multiple sites where other people are having same issue. I am out $118.00. Don’t buy this product.

I got a Nutribullet some time ago and love it. But my blade also began to leak black stuff, and now the main blade is loose and won’t work at all. I’ll have to replace it because, six months back, I have no idea where my proof of purchase is. Requiring that is ridiculous. But my main point is that this is a design flaw and should be remedied free of charge for all who experience it. In the long run, companies that do this fare so much better than those who pinch pennies.

My extractor blade seized on me after only using it since after Christmas when I received it. Called cs, they said they would replace it but it would be 3.99, and I was fuming. Why would I have to pay s&h if it was less than 3 mos. old, and the warranty was for 1 yr??? So what did I do??? Went to target, bought another one, exchanged the defective one for the new one, returned the whole thing as defective. Let nutrabullet figure it out.

The concept is great, and it works well for a short period of time. Most of the mechanical problems people are having seem to stem from the fact that its cheaply built and designed.
The motor on my unit is sound, but the extractor blades lose their seal and leak. Also the locking tabs on the cups are cheap plastic and break off or chip easily, which renders them useless.
A good American made blender lasts a life time. Not this unit. Its a poor investment simply because the company philosophy puts too much money into the adverts and infomercials, and not enough money into making more durable components to support the machine.

I have the same issue the seal for the extractor blade leaked and that was the end of the unit. A great idea but one that needs fixing for sure. It could become a great product if they address the issues mention ed above…. the leaking seal and the tabs that break. I experienced both issues!

This is so true. Leaking, noise, and now loose and unusable. The point you make about advertising: the best advertising, once a product has launched big, is word of mouth. And many are going to end up badmouthing because of the blade problem especially. Apple know about great customer service. Nutribullet should learn from them.

Nothing new to add other than customer service sucks
I purchased 2 units one at BB&Y and one directly from them – the one purchased from them was given as a gift since I love the concept and would continue to follow the concept either with Nutribullet or the Magic Bullet at 1/2 the price or the new Ninja
Needed a replacement blade one of my old blades started to leak and became wobbly. It was for the Store bought and gray in color. I spoke to them at length – gave the serial # for the machine that I needed the blade for – they put me on hold to research and make sure that I would get the right blade since the 2 may not necessarily be compatible. I got my replacement blade and it is a black one and will not fit. Need to deal with these rtards all over again
These guys have not got a clue

Basically the problem here is when the shaft through the blade base wobbles, it wears out the bearing hole and allows liquid to leak down into the base. Sooo… you have to be really careful not overloading the cup with too much hard icy stuff that can cause vibration and thus wear. Definitely, you should not fill cup over the max line and if it begins to vibrate, stop and remove some of the smoothie material. When the blade base does wear out you need to order another one from Nutribullet or eBay or some where. I think that’s like $20 or $25 from the company or see about trying to get it warranty if you can. I got carried away and abused mine, so just bought a new blade base (comes with two cups) Too much leakage will ruin the power base.

To be honest, I have an old magic bullet and it is almost just as good for making smoothies. The M. Bullet cups are a better size and except for a little smaller size and less power. But it seems to make adequate smoothies and is like half the cost.

Neither machine should be overloaded. Wish they would improve the blade bases as the machines are a good concept.

Just got my replacement motorbase and blades. I emailed the company, the entire transaction took a full 2 weeks. I was under warranty and it cost me $6 shipping. New unit is more quiet and blades seem a little different in angle. I’m very happy to be back to whole juicing AND very pleased I paid the extra $20 for additional warranty. My original unit was 8mo old, but started leaking at least 3mo prior to quitting – and me pursuing replacement.

I sent an email and did get a call that I missed. The voice mail instructed me to register my unit, and send the company my receipt and original email. I thought I had registered my Nutribullet, and even though he mentioned I could fax info, gave no fax number….please help. klyman1@tampabay.rr.com

Had the same leaking problem and have liquid behind the plastic film. I am calling tomorrow and I am prepared for the worst after reading this. It seems kind of dumb to not have a way to clean the darn thing if they know spills are highly likely. I’ll keep you posted. Wish I didn’t love the darn thing so much. Maybe if it doesn’t work out I will get the one to go with my Ninja. I just saw that they have something similar now.

I love the machine but i hate their customer service. The might be the worst company i have dealt with when it comes to just answering a phone. I have had the same problem with my bullet also. One thing i did learn is i purchased from Tareget and the have a 90 day return policy and the live by it. They dont care how used it is they will take it back and give you a new one.

I did like the product but saw the issues people had with customer service so we ended up buying at Target and bought their 7$ warranty, hassle free store exchange. It did spring a leak and we boxed it up after 3 months and simply got a new one from the store. Do yourself a favor with questionable quality products and companies like this and buy it from the retailer. I tell you one thing: they have plenty of leverage with the manufacturer, unlike you and I.

Wow seems everyone has the same problems , mine too leaked from the get go but I tought it was my fault and tried to not overload it and still got the same result , juices spewing from everywhere an the little plastic film that the juices gets behind which cannot be cleaned causing a brand new unit to look like poo . Well this morning I made the mistake of screwing on the milling blade instead of the extractor blade , and the machine started shaking and stirring an died , unplugged it , reset my fuse , tried the correct blade , switched cups , everything i can think of and nothing , I wrote an email to customer service an followed with a phone call and was informed of the high call volume and the will call me back when its my turn , thus the waiting begins .. Im glad to see im not the only one that has the similiar problem but I sure hope it gets resolved in less time that the original thread of over twenty days , wow …

well i got a call back after i left the post , spoke to a person , very polite an understanding , gave him my registration number and was quick to issue a replacement , costing me $5.99 for shipping and handling and I should be receiving the base within 7 business days , so the countdown begins ,

We are also having leaking issues. I have disassembled it twice to dry it out, but can,t get to all the areas that are wet. It seems to happen when my wife uses it, as she cannot tighten it as much as I do. I think the design of the seal is lacking – it should not be necessary to apply so much torque. Also, one of the locking tabs broke off the large container, when it got stuck in the slot. Another design flaw in my opinion.

Ugh, this is the worst company I’ve ever dealt with. With my new NutriBullet in hand, I plugged it in, turned it on and thought to myself,” Humm, what’s this burning smell?” I emailed and called the company (what a joke.) I continued to use it, praying that my new NutriBullet would somehow heal itself, and a few months later, the motor froze up on me. Oh no, now here comes the dreaded task of contacting the customer service dept (or attempt to, as my experience was EXACTLY like yours.) Finally, someone returned my call. The service rep saw my previous complaint of the burning smell and now thought I’d put ice cubes in it, I told him “no” and he stated someone else in the household did, I said “no”, he said, “are you sure?” They would not honor the 30 day warranty, so I have to pay shipping charges. (Because it “kind of worked”) Well, I am still waiting for the replacement motor, and as of today, was informed it’s on back order with no delivery date in sight. They’re waiting on the shipment from China. This information was given to me after 2 days of relentlessly trying to call and no response from my emails. So I’ve been waiting about 10 days now. Very discouraged.

Hey Sara, sounds like our stories are exactly the same. Very disappointed by the customer service here. They push sales all over the place but obviously are in over their heads. Please leave another comment as things progress so others can see this isn’t an isolated thing. Good luck!